Flash Forward - Thursdays at 8pm/7pm CT on ABC (Not Renewed for a 2nd Season)

[quote name='blandstalker']Right now, the show should be doing everything to make us keep viewing, not playing games.

I consider the rocket launcher to be cheating. The beginning of the show, and even the repeat right before the end, showed there was not near enough time for them to all exit the car and find strategic positions in the garage. One of them is shown seconds later to be walking towards the bad guys from the side. This is FlashForward, not The Flash.

The senator/VP/wanna-be-president is unclear. Since we don't see her flash forward, she's most likely lying. If we see it later and she really is president, that's something to be explained later. There are multiple ways for it to be true and for both visions to be true. This one is not a contradiction or cheating. Yet.

But coming in the same episode as the rocket launcher, it's a little worrisome. If they're willing to fudge little details for the sake of making it look more exciting, they'll certainly be willing to fudge details to make the whole thing hold together.

Me, I'm on the fence about this show. The premise is great and some of the ideas and visuals are impressive. The pacing and acting are all over the place, though.[/QUOTE]

The rocket launcher thing, I'll give you. That had me a little confused as well. HOWEVER, it's not like every action movie made in the past 20 years hasn't had something even more ridiculous in it. I don't know if the scene was so much planned poorly as it was shot poorly. One quick shot of them leaping from the car could have made it completely believable.

I'm not going to send the entire series to the stockade for a minor goof like that. In my opinion, the storyline is still solid, and they've done a good job of posing a question and then, very soon afterward, giving you an answer. Unlike LOST, which posed questions for 3 years before it started answering anything. It's a different approach, but it's not without merit.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Yeah, I have to say, for anybody crying "plot hole", isn't it a little ridiculous for a show to have contradicting elements in the SAME episode if it wasn't on purpose? We actually saw the President's vision, so that has to be true. The soon-to-be VP is either lying or making assumptions based on vague information. LOST does this kind of shit all the time and people view it as a "suspenseful plot twist". But when another show does it, it's a plot hole? Come on. It's like you're wanting the show to fail.[/QUOTE]

In case this was directed at me let me go on record right now and state I don't watch Lost, and never have. If that show does this all the time I'd have a problem with it as well. I don't mind a show taking some creative liberties, because it is televison after all, but I agree with Blandstalker's post completely.
 
caught it last night. my opinion? ya, that guy is going to end up in her house. I don't think she is going to be having an affair, i think the guy is working with her husband.
 
I am still one episode behind (didn't see it last night) but I am really liking the show so far. Maybe I'm looking at this wrong but isn't it completely possible that when the President had his flashforward the audience is led to believe that he was still President because you get called Mr. President for the rest of your life? We know he had an affair or was involved in some kind of scandal with that Renee woman - maybe it comes out in the next 6 months forcing his resignation and making the new VP woman President?
 
I was thinking along those same lines. Former presidents are addressed as "Mr. President" and it's not a stretch at all that one of the Secret Service agents who worked his detail in the White House would stay on with him after his term is up. They made it a point to show the same agent who woke him up in the FF also in the WH with him.

In reality, I think it's Clinton (possibly W) who is the last president that will receive lifetime SS protection. At least until a former POTUS who doesn't have a SS detail is assassinated, then that will change real quick.
 
Just watched this week's episode. I'm SO torn between liking the concept of the show, but then the writing and acting can really be atrocious at times! Especially Joseph Fiennes, the way he over-emotes every line gets on my nerves, his character just isn't believable, or really likable, to me. I wish they had used a different actor to play the lead guy.
 
Better episode this week, the show is starting to pick up a little bit.

Agree with Keith about Fiennes.....and he was part of the reason I was looking forward to the show.
 
[quote name='keithp']Just watched this week's episode. I'm SO torn between liking the concept of the show, but then the writing and acting can really be atrocious at times! Especially Joseph Fiennes, the way he over-emotes every line gets on my nerves, his character just isn't believable, or really likable, to me. I wish they had used a different actor to play the lead guy.[/QUOTE]

I agree, though I think it's kind of the point that he's somewhat annoying. If he were totally sympathetic, the last scene with his wife (who is almost always amazing) wouldn't have worked.

I just wish he'd tone it down a little. It's like the rest of them are in the real world and he's in Sin City or something.

[quote name='neocisco']Sonya Walger, yes. Her eyes are mesmerizing.[/QUOTE]

It's more than that. She is able to deliver even the most difficult lines in a totally convincing and natural way. I think it's kind of funny that I think her least believable scene was the "live for the moment/let's be with each other" speech at the beginning, but I don't know if it's because I didn't believe her or him.

Courtney B. Vance also seems to do a pretty good job of raising the material. The rest of them, though, are pretty uneven.

Stuff that was good about the last episode:

  1. That awkward living room meeting
  2. The Sally costume
  3. The kids being completely nonchalant about their flashforwards
Stuff that was stupid:

  1. The blue hand "secret society"
  2. Chasing the trick-or-treaters
Jury's still out on:

  1. The Simon/Dominic Monaghan character.
  2. The lesbian babymama
  3. The kangaroo
Also weird that this is the second time on an ABC sci-fi show we've gotten the Schrodinger's cat story (the last time being the sadly now-deceased Defying Gravity, which I liked a lot better than FlashForward)
 
I loved Defying Gravity. Did they even finish airing the remaining episodes? It was starting to get really good and they were about to reveal something major in the cargo bay.

It's such a shame shows like that never get a fair shake.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']I loved Defying Gravity. Did they even finish airing the remaining episodes? It was starting to get really good and they were about to reveal something major in the cargo bay.

It's such a shame shows like that never get a fair shake.[/QUOTE]

They never aired the remaining episodes, but they will be releasing them to Hulu "soon" and there will be a season Blu-Ray in January.

That show got better every week and had such potential. Here's a link to what the creator would have done with the show:

http://www.cliqueclack.com/tv/2009/...gressed-straight-from-the-creator/#more-35013
 
BSG started as a mini-series or tv movie on Scifi and then turned into a show...i believe.

Just watched episode 5..rocket into a car and everyone is fine .lol
 
[quote name='Maklershed']:bomb:

Maybe SyFy will pick it up? Didn't that happen with Battlestar?[/QUOTE]

Actors have been released and sets have been destroyed. :cry:

If you follow the link above, you'll see the series creator said that once ABC bought it, it's no longer got the same draw for SyFy (which, I think, is stupid on the part of SyFy. It would have been perfect for SyFy and I for one would have followed it there. It's not like SyFy is exactly brimming over with content, either.)

I don't know why ABC bought it in the first place since they obviously had no intention of keeping it on Sundays and no apparent plan for its success. Still, I'm glad I watched it and am looking forward to the remaining episodes, even if they will be bittersweet.
 
I really liked last nights episode.
It's going to be very interesting now that they have actually changed how things will play out since that character killed himself.
 
[quote name='super_dawn']I really liked last nights episode.
It's going to be very interesting now that they have actually changed how things will play out since that character killed himself.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, me too. I was thinking when
he jumped off the building
that it would be funny if he
landed on Celia, and *that* was how she got killed!
 
[quote name='keithp']Yeah, me too. I was thinking when
he jumped off the building
that it would be funny if he
landed on Celia, and *that* was how she got killed!
[/QUOTE]

Haha! omg...yea that would have been hilarious! :lol:
 
[quote name='keithp']Yeah, me too. I was thinking when
he jumped off the building
that it would be funny if he
landed on Celia, and *that* was how she got killed!
[/QUOTE]

I was hoping he'd
Get right back up after hitting the ground. NO CAN ESCAPE THE FLASH FORWARDS!
 
[quote name='keithp']Yeah, me too. I was thinking when
he jumped off the building
that it would be funny if he
landed on Celia, and *that* was how she got killed!
[/QUOTE]

Haha, I said the same thing to my wife. I guess that would have been too predictable and cheesy. Kudos to the show for actually spicing things up and raising some very intriguing questions now though.
 
[quote name='super_dawn']I really liked last nights episode.
It's going to be very interesting now that they have actually changed how things will play out since that character killed himself.
[/QUOTE]

I liked it a lot, too. The first time the show has brought everything together really well since the start. It worked on a whole bunch of levels, too, from how the characters reacted and the structure of the episode and cinematography.

I am also glad to see that
they opened up the whole "inevitable/it can be changed" can of worms so dramatically. Rather than wait and weasel out on a flash forward, one of the characters boldly and realistically made a real decision. That's just good writing and characterization.
 
[quote name='keithp']Yeah, me too. I was thinking when
he jumped off the building
that it would be funny if he
landed on Celia, and *that* was how she got killed!
[/QUOTE]

This is EXACTLY what I thought was going to happen.
The fountain those kids were playing at was right below where he was jumping. I thought he was going to survive the fall and kill the mother. That was pretty ballsy to kill off a main character so early in the show's lifespan. It was also pretty unrealistic unless this guy had suicidal tendencies in the past - I mean think if this event happened to you. If I didn't have a flashforward I certainly wouldn't kill myself and if I did have one but I didn't like what I saw I definitely wouldn't kill myself. Also, there are tons of other less drastic ways to prove that the flashforward future could be altered.
It's an above average show but isn't as though-provoking or deep as the writers obviously think it is.
 
[quote name='javeryh']This is EXACTLY what I thought was going to happen.
The fountain those kids were playing at was right below where he was jumping. I thought he was going to survive the fall and kill the mother. That was pretty ballsy to kill off a main character so early in the show's lifespan. It was also pretty unrealistic unless this guy had suicidal tendencies in the past - I mean think if this event happened to you. If I didn't have a flashforward I certainly wouldn't kill myself and if I did have one but I didn't like what I saw I definitely wouldn't kill myself. Also, there are tons of other less drastic ways to prove that the flashforward future could be altered.
It's an above average show but isn't as though-provoking or deep as the writers obviously think it is.[/QUOTE]

I think you're being a little too harsh and missing the main point. What the show is doing is showing how powerful (and potentially devastating) it would be to truly know the future. The whole episode seemed to fixate on knowing when death is going to happen and how it would affect you. For the members of the Ghost group, these people believe they're going to die but have no idea when or how it's going to happen.

Think of the anxiety that would come with something like that. Every loud noise you heard, every car that pulled out in front of you would have you jumping out of your skin. These people were taking control back by deciding the when and how themselves. As for Al, yeah, he had a vision, but his problem was that he's responsible for someone's death. And he doesn't know the when or the how. So, now add guilt on top of the anxiety from the earlier scenario. It's hard to say how anybody would react, even those without suicidal tendencies.

Of course, the key factor in all of this is whether you believe in the visions as truth. I think that's direction the show will really focus on now. We've got all these conflicting emotions, with people who want to believe their vision and use it to change their outlook on life, people who hate their vision and don't believe it, and people who hate it, but almost seem compelled to make it happen anyway. Obviously, that last one I referenced is about Mark.

From a psychological standpoint, I really find it interesting that his vision almost seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Other than the friendship bracelet his daughter gave him, he's essentially forcing everything in his vision to happen the way he saw it. I, for one, can't wait to see how Al's death rocks his foundation. It should be difficult to know what to believe now.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']I think you're being a little too harsh and missing the main point. What the show is doing is showing how powerful (and potentially devastating) it would be to truly know the future. The whole episode seemed to fixate on knowing when death is going to happen and how it would affect you. For the members of the Ghost group, these people believe they're going to die but have no idea when or how it's going to happen.

Think of the anxiety that would come with something like that. Every loud noise you heard, every car that pulled out in front of you would have you jumping out of your skin. These people were taking control back by deciding the when and how themselves. As for Al, yeah, he had a vision, but his problem was that he's responsible for someone's death. And he doesn't know the when or the how. So, now add guilt on top of the anxiety from the earlier scenario. It's hard to say how anybody would react, even those without suicidal tendencies.

Of course, the key factor in all of this is whether you believe in the visions as truth. I think that's direction the show will really focus on now. We've got all these conflicting emotions, with people who want to believe their vision and use it to change their outlook on life, people who hate their vision and don't believe it, and people who hate it, but almost seem compelled to make it happen anyway. Obviously, that last one I referenced is about Mark.

From a psychological standpoint, I really find it interesting that his vision almost seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Other than the friendship bracelet his daughter gave him, he's essentially forcing everything in his vision to happen the way he saw it. I, for one, can't wait to see how Al's death rocks his foundation. It should be difficult to know what to believe now.[/QUOTE]

Well said :applause:, I totally agree.
 
Agree with that post as well. Things are picking up now that the shows moving solidly along the "what would you do if you knew your future" angle.
 
Glad I'm not the only one enjoying the show for those reasons. When my wife and I were watching it, we started talking about how if you knew you were going to die, but didn't know when or how, you'd probably be so messed up that you wouldn't ever want to leave your house. But then, what if THAT is the exact reason you die? See, then it turns into the biggest mindfuck paradox ever, haha.

Anything you do to "change" your future could be the exact thing that ends up causing it. This is why I half expected Al to land on Celia when he threw himself off the roof. I'm just waiting for the inevitable "you think you're in control, but you can't do a damn thing about anything" angle to play out. To me, this is the strength of the show, and it really starts to become philosophical. But it's interesting as hell. Predestination vs. free will. You decide.
 
I'm going to have to agree with me and disagree with you guys. Even in the framework of the show they don't know the future! No one does! Rational people would try and ascertain whether the future was 100% going to come true or not and most likely fight to change the inevitable anyway. Otherwise normal, well-adjusted people wouldn't join weird underground clubs which require you to play Russian Roulette to get in and they wouldn't jump off skyscrapers. People get death sentences all the time (cancer patients, etc.) and yet still fight to live no matter if death is right around the corner - that's human nature! Only weak-minded pussies kill themselves at the first sign of trouble!
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Anything you do to "change" your future could be the exact thing that ends up causing it. This is why I half expected Al to land on Celia when he threw himself off the roof. I'm just waiting for the inevitable "you think you're in control, but you can't do a damn thing about anything" angle to play out.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't be surprised if, in classic women in refrigerators style, Celia and her children end up dead in some grisly fashion just to show up Al for his arrogance. Or worse, the writers never mention them again.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I'm going to have to agree with me and disagree with you guys. Even in the framework of the show they don't know the future! No one does! Rational people would try and ascertain whether the future was 100% going to come true or not and most likely fight to change the inevitable anyway. Otherwise normal, well-adjusted people wouldn't join weird underground clubs which require you to play Russian Roulette to get in and they wouldn't jump off skyscrapers. People get death sentences all the time (cancer patients, etc.) and yet still fight to live no matter if death is right around the corner - that's human nature! Only weak-minded pussies kill themselves at the first sign of trouble![/QUOTE]

Yeah, but there's no indication that EVERY person who didn't have a vision joined the Ghost club (Demetri is a prime example) and is lining up to kill themselves. It's a select group. But for you to deny the possibility that SOME people might respond that way is asinine.

People handle anxiety and stress differently. I don't think it's beyond reasonable for some people to react that way at all. And how do you know for certain that Al wasn't having suicidal thoughts? I seem to remember him putting a gun under his chin and pulling the trigger to get them into the club. He said he knew it wouldn't go off because he had a vision and knew he wasn't going to die. But maybe he really didn't care if it did.

Furthermore, it's a TV show. Think about the premise of the entire show. Every person in the world (mostly) blacked out at the exact same time, for the exact same length of time, and had a vision of the exact same day. If you're willing to buy into that, how can you say how people are "supposed" to react? You don't think that would freak anybody out...at all?

The bottom line here is that you're making a generalization for everybody and saying that's how a "normal" person would act. Yes, I agree that some people respond well to adversity and find a way to rise above it. But if you think that's how everybody responds, you need to get out more.
 
Yeah, I will agree that Al's suicide did kind of come out of left field. They could have played that out a bit more over another episode or two with him struggling with it or so.

But the show is improving a bit plot wise. Acting and dialogue are still not great. But I'm interested a good bit for now and will definitely keep watching.

January on will be the real test once Lost and 24 are on, along with the other shows I'm currently watching and my TV time is more crowded.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Yeah, but there's no indication that EVERY person who didn't have a vision joined the Ghost club (Demetri is a prime example) and is lining up to kill themselves. It's a select group. But for you to deny the possibility that SOME people might respond that way is asinine. [/QUOTE]

Of course EVERY person isn't going to join this cult or whatever but the show went out of its way to suggest that normal, well-adjusted people decided to paint their hands blue and electrocute each other because they had no flashforward. The three bodies they found were all of the "married father of two" description implying that these were normal people going batshit insane - I just don't buy it. If the backgrounds of these people were all troubled, etc. it would be easier to believe but the writers went out of their way to state they were "normal".

[quote name='n8rockerasu']People handle anxiety and stress differently. I don't think it's beyond reasonable for some people to react that way at all. And how do you know for certain that Al wasn't having suicidal thoughts? I seem to remember him putting a gun under his chin and pulling the trigger to get them into the club. He said he knew it wouldn't go off because he had a vision and knew he wasn't going to die. But maybe he really didn't care if it did.[/QUOTE]

The reason why Al put the gun to his head wasn't because he knew he was going to be alive in 6 months because of his flashforward! It was because he planned on jumping off of a skyscraper anyway (after his flashforward which planted his suicidal thoughts). If he honestly believed he was going to be alive in 6 months then why jump off of the skyscraper - it would have been pointless (and painful). Obviously, he believed he could change the future!

[quote name='n8rockerasu']Furthermore, it's a TV show. Think about the premise of the entire show. Every person in the world (mostly) blacked out at the exact same time, for the exact same length of time, and had a vision of the exact same day. If you're willing to buy into that, how can you say how people are "supposed" to react? You don't think that would freak anybody out...at all?[/QUOTE]

I can totally buy into the premise of the show as long as the events that unfold from it are logical and believable within that premise. I can accept that a certain small subset of people might become suicidal after not having a flashforward but for an entire group of people to organize themselves with an underground movement and conduct secret meetings where people are killed and tortured (all within 6 weeks of the flashforward) is ridiculous to me the more I think about it. Wouldn't it be way more believable for these same people to quit their jobs, go skydiving or travel or blow their life savings or any other number of things people want to do before they die? Getting electrocuted isn't on anyone's list short of a mental patient, trust me.

[quote name='n8rockerasu']The bottom line here is that you're making a generalization for everybody and saying that's how a "normal" person would act. Yes, I agree that some people respond well to adversity and find a way to rise above it. But if you think that's how everybody responds, you need to get out more.[/QUOTE]

There's no adversity here though! So you didn't have a flashforward? There could be tons of other explanations other than death, right? Maybe you were asleep or maybe medically this unnatural phenomenon affects large groups of people differently on a physiological level? Just because scientists can't explain the flashforwards (in 6 short weeks - lol) doesn't mean there isn't a logical reason as to why some people had flashforwards and others didn't. It hasn't been proven by anyone that you definitely die before April 29 but it can be easily proven that events can change before April 29 which means that all flashforwards don't necessarily come true.

Whew! That was a lot of words. I don't know - maybe we can agree to disagree. I like the show so far but to me it is definitely not on par with other great dramas (Sopranos, Lost, etc.).
 
[quote name='javeryh']I like the show so far but to me it is definitely not on par with other great dramas (Sopranos, Lost, etc.).[/QUOTE]

I don't think many (if any) would disagree with that.

It's been a decent show so far, but it's far from great IMO. Certainly good enough to keep watching, but it's not Lost etc. and seems unlikely to end up very high on my favorite shows of all time list (Lost is near the top, if not at the top).
 
Solid episode this week, playing on what people will do now that they know they future can be changed. And a Pearl Jam tune (Unthought Known) to start the episode which was great! :D

Preview for next week looks kind of cheesy though.
 
Hmm...thought last night was pretty weak. Way too slow and nothing really interesting, if they keep this up they're going to start losing viewers.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Hmm...thought last night was pretty weak. Way too slow and nothing really interesting, if they keep this up they're going to start losing viewers.[/QUOTE]


Agreed. It was a pretty below average episode. Slow. But they won't lose me...I do want to see how everything plays out.
 
I thought it was slow and weak.

It started well, with the musical montage and I really liked the way last week's events influenced everyone's thoughts and actions.

But much of the rest was dull or bad. All of the poker scenes were awful, in both writing and acting. Whatshisface can't be a good FBI agent if
he shot and killed the guy
because of the tattoo. Even without the subsequent scenes, you'd have to be an idiot to think that such a simplistic tattoo would be unique.

I mean, I get the motivation and I sympathize, and I can see how the flash forward and last week's events would cause even sane people to whiplash between fate/destiny and magical thinking. But he should be smarter than that.

This show often seems out of balance. I thought last week worked so well, and this week just seemed silly: over the top, overwrought, and underthought.
 
Agreed. Definitely a filler episode, but wasn't as cheesy as the previews last week made it look.

Next episode looked more promising.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Agreed. Definitely a filler episode, but wasn't as cheesy as the previews last week made it look.

Next episode looked more promising.[/QUOTE]

next weeks episodes looks like itll be good. lots of stuff
the press conference and getting close to demetri's killer
 
This episode wasn't very good. I'm not really interested in Tracy and her dad's storyline, so that was boring to me. The doc's Japan trip was better, but still kind of lame. A bunch of filler content all in all I thought.
 
Of course there are going to be "filler" episodes. That's how network television works. When you have to produce 22 eps a season and a successful show runs 4-5 seasons, so-called filler is necessary. If you don't like "filler" eps then you should only be watching shows on HBO or Showtime.
 
I really liked last night's episode, but then again I'm a sucker for anything Japanese. Listening to Bryce was a hoot. His Japanese was just good enough to be understood, but appropriately bad in just the right ways. There was a lot of care put into this episode.

More than that, though, it was just a good story that really made everything we've seen about him have some depth. I don't mind when a drama takes some time out from the main story if they're going to do a good job developing the characters, which is what happened here. It's also pretty notable that they introduced a new character and gave her a surprising amount of depth in one episode.

The Tracy subplot was kind of boring...only really interesting in terms of what it's doing to her dad. I'm still waiting for that story to go somewhere.

Whatshisface gets a second week of dumb in a row. How can this guy be a great FBI agent with such terrible people skills? You'd think, too, that after really blowing it the first time, he'd try a different approach the second. Nope. Loser. I'm starting to root for his wife dumping him for the dude from Swingtown.
 
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